Boss XX and XY: new perfumes, new campaign

"What exactly is human nature"? A tall order to answer that, you'd say, as anthropologists, psychologists and philosophers have tried for centuries to no avail.
Hugo Boss is trying too, I guess, launching the fragrance XY for men and XX for women, relying on a more biologically-oriented premise, that of the chromosomes. Hey, it's all in the DNA, haven't you heard?

The fragrance duo reflects the ongoing battle between the sexes creating a sensual aroma that when brought together has natural chemistry.
XY is a mix of cedrat, ice accord and muskroot, while XX contains notes of basmati rice heart, jasmine sambac and fruity top notes.

The following commercial, directed by Chris Applebaum, places Jonathan Rhys Myers and an attractive brunette model into a boxing ring to cement the notion of "battle of the sexes". Playful!
There is another commercial that is longer and more interesting -especially stylistically- combining a trio of characters without Jonathan Rhys Meyers this time, in what seems an art gallery, but it's nowhere to be found on Youtube for now, as it mysteriously vanished. Pity...

In any case, watch the clip here:


In it, there is an interview by Jonathan Rhys Meyers on a french channel, in which he says how Boss approached him and how the previous campaign was quite successful. The director insists that it is important to cement an image of the scent for the viewer and that JRM was the best choice to accomplish that. The latter also interestingly mentions how the scent actually smells better the longer it stays on the skin, which is the badge of approval for that kind of thing. Yup, we thought so too!

Pic from official Boss Fragrances campaign

Be a perfume sleuth if you really Covet that bottle!

Sarah Jessica Parker impressed us with her Lovely musky foray into fragrance as we didn't really expect a celebrity perfume to be of any considerable substance. But this was a serious perfume lover we were talking about (click here for her signature perfume mix and here, for an interview with Chandler Burr)and she passed the test with flying colours.
Now comes Covet, her new scent for women and the commercial was conceived by genius director Jean-Paul Goude, responsible for the Chanel Egoiste commercial that made it to the advertising Hall of Fame.
Set to Verdi's Forza del Destino with adorably playful french by smokey-eyed mrs. Parker as she talks to monsieur le gendarme and with red-soled Louboutin shoes that peek unmistakably under her Lacroix couture dress as she kicks to the count of the orchestra on the window of the posh boutique, this is a Paris-shot commercial that imprints itself on our mind with its strange atavistic motto "I had to have it!". Because it is so much coveted, you see.

And now Coty, the brand which is issuing Covet the fragrance for Sarah Jessica Parker have devised a new sleuthing game on who masterminded the theft of the bottle on their new site, Case of the Coveted Bottle(click on the link). The site offers free samples and a contest running till October 15th for weekly prizes. There will be extra clues given on this My Space link, where you can additionally download screensavers and wallpapers for your computer.

The Grand Prize winner will receive $10.000 and a trip for two to NYC to attend Lucky Magazine’s Lucky Shops 2007, but also a Covet gift bag encompassing a jewelry box and a deluxe mini. One First Prize winner will win a flat panel TV costing $1.200 and the Covet gift bag with the items described above. Last but not least 30 second prize winners will be receiving the Covet gift bag.
Additionally, the first person to solve one of ten weekly challenges will receive a green apple iPod Shuffle along with the Covet gift bag and the challenges will renew themselves each week. Finally two lucky winners will receive an apple iPhone and a Covet gift bag for the Bonus Challenges.

Sounds impressive! In any case good luck, those games can be addictive! I could spend hours being all monsieur Hercules Poirot on that site.

On the other hand if you want to laugh a bit with the ingenious uses of the bottle, please visit this link on Smelly Blog.

Clip uploaded by Leofour4, pics from Myspace/covetsarahjessicaparker

Winter Amber Splash by Marc Jacobs: fragrance review

It is not seldom that something is misnamed in the world of perfume. Where shall I start? Angel, that dervish of a scent that has nothing to do with seraphic affinities? Youth Dew, that quintessential in the calculated arsenal of a mature woman that depending on her guiles can be interpreted as either too good or too bad? Fragile, surely not as fragile and subtle as you might deduce...Passage d'enfer with its cool soapy tone that belies its "passage through hell" name? (for a more detailed explanation on the name click here and scroll down). It is not easy to come up with a fitting name as we discussed on another occassion (click here).

And Winter Amber in the Splash series by Marc Jacobs is another one following the tradition of misnomers, luckily. Usually it is referred to simply as Amber and it was a limited edition anyway (along with their Ivy and Violet), so it is of no consequence for the upcoming generations in this fickle world of scent; but here at Perfume Shrine we like to hold on to things that caught our fancy regardless.
Luckily, I repeat, for me, because heavy ambers destined for an arctic winter do not make themselves approachable enough or suited to my sunnier surroundings; and I have to wait for the dead of winter to bring out the really heavy guns. Or sometimes, as is the case with Ambre Sultan, not bring them out at all, as they prove to be too condensed, too impenetrable and husky for me to crack their secrets and bring them to a climax. People who can actually manage those things are probably just as well left with those options and should consider themselves blessed.

On the contrary, this lucid, diaphanous amber lends itself to still warm early autumnal weather, weaving powdery aspects and rounded effulgent clean accords, softly glowing like an old silver-mounded honey coloured fossil trapping inside it a few precious drops of spicy forest honey. Cosy and velvety, whispery, it has the same soft quality that appears in Jo Malone's Amber and Lavender, without the latter's herbaceous edge.

Official notes:
Top Notes of Crystallised Ginger & Star Anise.
Heart Notes of Amber, Lys and Cassia Bark.
Base Notes of Cashmere Wood & Benzoin

If you dream of the Eagles lyrics below, this is the amber to take you into autumn.

I like the way your sparkling earrings lay,
against your skin so brown
and I wanna sleep with you
in the desert tonight
with a billion stars all around
’cause I gotta peaceful easy feeling
and I know you won’t let me down
’cause I’m already standing on the
ground
And I found out a long time ago
what a woman can do to […]

Its only drawback? The austere ginormous bottle that will last you a lifetime. Oh well, they're meant to be used all over...
Available at Nordstorm. $65.00 for 10oz/300ml of eau de toilette spray.



Next to be reviewed:

Prada Infusion d'Iris and Iris Ganache by Guerlain along with other exciting features. Stay tuned!

Pic of bottle courtesy of Nordstorm site.

Midnight Poison by Christian Dior: the clock strikes twelve

My subtitle might remind you of a great classic Blue Oyster Cult song, Astronomy and Parfums Christian Dior might be privy to the fact that it has awesome lyrics(click the link to read) able to convey poignant images.
And so Christian Dior proceeded with yet another Poison in the illustrious line, this time named Midnight Poison.

Among perfume circles the fragrances following the original Poison are usually snubbed. Conceived by nose Edouard Flechier in 1985, encased in a flacon the colour of bruise and with a name to entice you to bite the ordoriferous yet faulty apple in the enchanted forest, the original Poison acted as a hand grenade for the nostrils of unsuspecting passerbys, who were too often anaesthetized by the penetrating aroma of this mysky, fruity and oriental concoction. A great thing, despite appearences and the only person I met who wore it well was my dear mother. Probably because she only dabbed two drops behind each ear.

The following versions, Tendre Poison from the early 90s, a greener floral highlightining freesia, and the quite recent Pure Poison with its synthetic orange blossom opening on a bed of musk are fairly tame in comparison. Hypnotic Poison by nose Annick Menardo from 1998, a tripy almondy gourmand, has -for the amove mentioned reasons- its own fans and escapes criticism relatively unscathed.

However this new Midnight Poison has the most gorgeous commercial imaginable and Perfume Shrine considers it its duty to bring those things to you.
So here it is for your delectation:




Directed by Wong Kar-Wai and featuring the wonderful actress Eva Green (Vesper in Casino Royal but also famous due to Bertolucci's film The Dreamers and Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven), it is stylistically superb, if a little gothic-looking. To which Perfume Shrine is not averse to, it might be noted. Of course the hanging from the chandelier puts a playful spin on this, so I guess it is not as gothic as it could be; let's say Tim Burton on a Mars Attacks budget.
References to the Cinderella fairy tale are evident in the depiction of a gigantic Dior clock that is about to chime midnight, the heroine running to the great "palace" to be in time, as well as the shot of the black ankle lace-up boots that adorn Eva's dainty feet. And as the countdown to 12 begins, we see Eva reveal a different self; a self that is brought about by wearing the new Dior fragrance, we infer, as drops of rain -or is it moondrops bursting?- are falling over her porcelain skin and raven black hair...

The song is Space Dementia by Muse, which I am taking the chance to remind you was the group whose song was chosen for the Insolence by Guerlain commercial featuring Hillary Swank. For some reason the line "You make me sick" indeed has a weird overtone in relation to perfume, but of course the whole concept of Poison was to assert itself agressively to the one smelling it, alluding to a dangerous sexuality that is confident in its choices.

What's left is the glorious midnight blue of the couture dress, the mysterious looking bottle, the majestic surroundings and a gorgeous campaign that should be met with an equally daring aroma "like acid and oil on a madman's face".

As to the latter I divert you to this perfume review by Cognoscented.

Clip by Youtube uploaded by museabusedotcom, pics courtesy of Dior campaign

I just might have to take it back…

Remember when Perfume Shrine was the first one to report on the new Chanel ad campaign for Coco Mademoiselle featuring Keira Knightley? It was the first one to meow about it too.
Much as I hate to do it, I might have to take it back (well, only part of it, as there is no love lost between me and ms.Knightley) and eat humble pie, as I came across the videos and making of of the new campaign and I have to admit it is looking much better than expected and actually has a cool edge to it! Rather like a F.Scott Fitzerald heroine, Keira bobs her hair and dons 20s style dresses with especially cool jewels adorning her lithe physique.
Of course Chanel has always paid great attention to its commercials and it shows, but it's nice to see that they are not abandoning the tradition. Especially after letting go of Kate Moss, who to Jacques Polges was a great choice for the representation of Coco Mademoiselle. And with a surname to beat all others in the realm of fragrance to boot. But fashion isn't anything if not fickle. (You can however click here and here for great nostalgic pics of the campaign with Moss).

There are two clips in rotation with the same song, by two different artists.

The Joss Stone version



And the original Nat King Cole version



And on top of that there is this clip that features some great shots from the campaign and of the wonderful jewels, albeit scored by a completely different premise of city. Ah well...


Chanel had the good sense to set up a new site just for the occassion and I urge you to explore it. Click here for lots of fun!

And to top it all, Chanel have launched new products in the Coco Mademoiselle line, available through their official site, such as the elegant limited edition gold compact of solid perfume depicted above (120$) and a 7.5ml/0.25oz solid white flacon for the purse of pure parfum/extrait(100$).

Can't wait to see the commercials running on my TV screen. Will hold definite judgment till then.

Clips from keiraweb.com and uploaded by Knightleyfan, pics from Chanel official site and okadi.